McDonald’s is hit with $100million class action lawsuit ‘for making staff work for free’ – and 25,000 Aussies could join legal fight
- Lawsuit alleges McDonald's underpaid
- Claim filed by the union for up to $100 million
- READ MORE: RBA staff underpaid by $1.15 million
An estimated 25,000 McDonald's workers could join a class action against the fast-food giant seeking millions of dollars in alleged unpaid overtime.
The restaurant chain and its franchisees are accused of failing to pay managers and supervisors an hour of unpaid work each day because they carried out checks and transfers outside their scheduled hours.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association has filed a claim in the Federal Court.
A class action lawsuit claims McDonald's underpaid about 25,000 employees by $100 million
The union believes the total amount owed could exceed $100 million and is also calling on the court to penalize McDonald's Australia financially.
It applies to all shift leaders, department managers, assistant restaurant managers and restaurant managers who have worked at the chain in the past six years.
The union's national secretary Gerard Dwyer claimed it was wage theft and exploitation on a colossal scale.
“McDonald's operates on a broken business model,” Dwyer said.
“As one of the country's largest employers, McDonald's should not require managers to work unpaid for a maximum of one hour per shift.”
Former McDonald's shift supervisor and department manager Mikayla Martin-Coats said that during her three years as a manager she was constantly told to arrive at work 30 minutes early, but felt powerless to do anything about it.
'If I didn't show up to work 30 minutes early, I would be called into a meeting and given a warning by my manager. It wasn't worth the risk to arrive on time,” she explained.
The union claims that shift leaders, department managers, assistant restaurant managers and restaurant managers who have worked at the chain in the past six years have not been paid overtime
“There was a long list of tasks I had to complete before each shift to ensure everything was ready to go and that the store was up to standards.”
A spokesperson for McDonalds Australia said it is committed to ensuring employees receive the appropriate rights and remuneration under the relevant award and a former enterprise agreement.
“McDonald's Australia takes its obligations under all applicable employment laws very seriously,” they said.
'We value our people and the contributions they make to our restaurants every day.'